Travel Like The Bachelorette

Chances are if you’re reading this you tuned into last night’sBachelorette premiere (or at least DVR’d it), to see if single mom Emily Maynard will finally find true love. Here at Travel we’re not wondering who will win her heart so much as where she will fall in love.

For the first time ever the show has been moved from the “Bachelor pad” in Los Angeles to a Southern mansion in Maynard’s hometown of Charlotte, NC, so she could spend as much time with daughter Ricki as possible. Maynard was engaged to NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick who died in a 2004 plane crash while she was pregnant with their child.

Much of the season will take place in Charlotte, but it remains to be seen how much of the Queen city you’ll get to see outside of the gated community’s walls. According to the Charlotte Observer, Maynard and her suitors have been spotted around town scaling the side of the Mint Museum, dining at the new Osso Restaurant and Lounge and taking in the Gloriana concert at the NC Music Factory. For more about city that blends “cosmopolitan chic and southern hospitality” as seamlessly as the Bachelorette herself, check out our Charlotte city guide.

Later in the season, Emily leaves Charlotte and follows her heart around the globe. She’ll go on intimate and adventurous dates in Bermuda, London, Dubrovnik, Croatia and Prague. She also gets a big surprise closer to home when she visits one of her favorite places — Dollywood — and gets a serenade from Dolly Parton herself. Be sure to check back here later this season for more about her exotic vacations. We’ll be watching and getting inspired for our next romantic getaway, are you with us?